I caught this Lifetime movie, Widow on the Hill, yesterday. Apparently, it is old and has been aired once, twice, or even more times before. But I had not seen it. It was presented as a true story, so, of course, I had to check it out.

Turns out, it is real life, but the “black widow” was called Linda Cavanaugh in the movie, a fictious name. Her real name is Donna Somerville.

It takes place in a little town in Virginia. Linda or Donna was a hospice nurse of sorts and was hired by a well-established and well-respected family to care for the dying wife of Hamilton Somerville. The wife did in fact die and Hamilton and Donna were married less than a year later.

She was seen as a gold digger by his daughters who never liked her. The movie mentions only two daughters, but turns out there were really three, and he also had adopted her daughter as well.

But when Hamilton dies, rather unexpectedly, the daughters were suspicious. He had cut them out of the will (supposedly at her insistence) and there had been rumors about town that Donna had not been faithful to her husband.

Donna wanted his body cremated immediately, but the daughters prevailed and an autopsy was ordered. He had died of a concoction of drugs and Donna was charged with murder.

She was tried in June of 2004 for first degree murder in a bench trial, rather than a jury trial, and the judge found her not guilty. (Maybe she beguiled the judge?)

She still lives on the massive 345 acre property she inherited and is rarely seen.

The daughters have filed a civil lawsuit against her and I can’t find anything about whether or not that has been resolved except a mention somewhere about a settlement under seal. [See update at bottom] Couldn’t find a picture of Hamilton either.

Very interesting, Bella, and I had never heard of the movie or the case–and she was found not guilty and lives happily ever after, what do ya know? Those daughters don’t seem very happy!! It might be kind of fun to research that one a little.

My friend is the son of Donna’s lawyer. The movie is true and she never killed him. He committed suicide and had left all of his money to Donna. The daughter’s of him were really mad about that so that is why they accused her of killing him.

Donna lost the civil suit against the daughters of Ham Somervile.I do not blame the daughters for being mad at all-I would be mad also!It is not right for the spouse to get everything and leave the children nothing..Even if she was aquitted of 1st degree murder, she was in part responsible for his death because she was his and his deceased wife’s nurse.Donna also tried in every way possible to get everything Ham owned and not leave anything to his daughters(morally this is wrong-packaged deal when married to someone with children).She would have been better off with a payout of some sort and letting the daughters have the house and land.Now she had to give it all back in a civil suit.What goes around comes around.Hopefully the daughters can now live a more peaceful life with their families! ;D

Oh my gosh, where are your senses. You must have been born without any! A woman like Donna deserves nothing! And she will answer for everything she did wrong. She is a “nothing & a nobody” & she would kill to have what is not hers. She’s sick!! And she makes me sick!

I’m sure the previous commenter was not insinuating that Donna deserved anything from the husband in which I agree she deserves nothing but what Patricia was saying is God Bless Donna because although she doesn’t deserve anything, she has just as much a right to be forgiven by God and loved by God. God forgives, loves and saves anyone who turns to him in repentance. Now that is the key! If Donna has true remorse in her heart then she is forgiven and saved but if she has no repentance then that’s another story. Let’s remember that while we can judge her by her actions, only God knows her heart. We cannot see if she feels remorse so we cannot judge her soul.

Anonymous, emotionally, I agree with you about Donna should have got nothing, but our system unfortuately doesn’t work that way. If she was found guilty, she would have got nothing, but she was aquitted. Therefore, I am sure this is why the daughters and Donna had to settle. Thank goodness she was found negligent and had to settle with Ham’s daughters. duahters. Thatnk

This case should be an example how NOT to treat stepchildren or children of your spouse’s.A parent should NEVER trust their spouse to do the right thing for their children; trust your own judgement and make sure your children are protected in your will or trust to keep the stepparent from screwing your children over.

Anonymous, I feel Donna deserves nothing, but unfortunately our judicial system doesn’t work this way. Donna was aquitted but found liable in the civil suit. Therefore, the only thing Ham’s daughters could do was sue her in civil court. Fortunately, they won and got their rightful family home back.

Killed himself, yea that’s what she would have the lawyer believe. I bet she screwed him too! The husband wouldn’t kill himself and leave it all to her when he was in the process of trying to divorce her. He was kicking her out of the house very soon when he died.

who ever said he killed himself is a stupid idiot..why would he kill himself…thats the dumbest thing i have ever heard…clearly this TRICK was golddigger and she got away with murder…I believe that the truth will come to light…u just w8!

You must be black. Evil doesnt have a specific colour. Someone hurt u bad. Check out: Ephesians 4:31-32. I pray that ur hatred towards whites, in particular, white women, is not actually exercised in this world. May god be with u n open ur eyes. God bless.

Actually, Mrs. Somerville was found “liable” in the civil suit Mr. Somerville’s daughters filed against her, AKA guilty. She had to give up his estate, including the house, all of which was valued at over $15 million.

I THINK IT’S ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS THAT SHE LOST EVERYTHING IN THE END, JUSTICE PREVAILED (WHICH DOESN’T HAPPEN ALL THAT OFTEN), AND WAS A VERY TRAGIC STORY WITH A GREAT CONCLUSION AND OUTCOME FOR HIS DAUGHTERS.

I THINK IT’S HILARIOUS THAT SHE LOST EVERYTHING IN THE END. REMEMBER IN THE MOVIE WHERE SHE (THE ACTRESS NATASHA HENSTRIDGE) IS BEING INTERVIEWED BY SOME LOCAL OR NATIONAL TV SHOW BY THE BLACK WOMAN WHO WAS INTERVIEWING HER THROUGHOUT THE MOVIE, PRIOR TO HER TRIAL? REMEMBER WHAT LINDA (A.K.A DONNA) WAS SAYING TO THE REPORTER ABOUT HOW SHE WANTED IT ALL REALLY BAD, FOUGHT TO GET TO THE TOP OF THE HILL AND THAT NOBODY WAS GOING TO PUSH OFF? THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED! LOL-LOL-LOL-LOL!!

SHE WAS AN EGOTISTICAL AND SELF-CENTERED SMART-ASS WITH A BIG MOUTH AND SHE GOT EXACTLY WHAT SHE SO RICHLY DESERVED IN THE END. I JUST HOPE SHE DIDN’T GET A DIME EITHER. SHE IS DAMN LUCKY I WAS NOT THE JUDGE BECAUSE I WOULD FINED HER ASS AN ADDITIONAL $500,000.00, PLUS COURT COSTS, FOR ALL THE TORTURE, MISERY, PAIN, AND SUFFERING SHE CAUSED THAT POOR FAMILY. SHE TORTURED THAT FAMILY FOR YEARS WITH HER STUNTS AND CAUSED THEM NOTHING BUT GRIEF, TROUBLE, SORROW, MISERY, AND PROBLEMS FROM THE MOMENT SHE ARRIVED!

OBVIOUSLY, THERE FATHER WAS NOT IN THE RIGHT STATE OF MIND WHEN HIS WIFE HAD CANCER, SO THE DAUGHTERS SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE’S TO TAKE OVER THE IMPORTANT DECISIONS SUCH AS PALLIATIVE AND HOSPICE CARE. AND AS SUCH THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD EACH APPLICANT THOROUGHLY CHECKED OUT BY A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, WHO WOULD HAVE DONE A BACKGROUND CHECK, CRIMINAL RECORD CHECK, WORK HISTORY CHECK, ACADEMIC CHECK, MEDICAL TRAINING CHECK, INTERVIEWED HER PREVIOUS PATIENTS, AND MUCH, MUCH MORE. IF THEY HAD DONE THIS THEY COULD HAVE AVERTED AND SAVED THEMSELVES A WHOLE LOT OF GRIEF AND PREVENTED THE ENTIRE TRAGEDY. DONNA WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN HIRED IF ONLY THEY HAD DONE THIS, BECAUSE SHE HAD SERIOUS PROBLEMS, RED FLAGS, AND HADN’T EVEN BEEN DOING ANY NURSING WORK FOR YEARS PRIOR TO HER TAKING THE JOB. THAT IS THE ONE THING THAT I NEVER REALLY UNDERSTOOD ABOUT THIS STORY, WHY DID THEY EVEN HIRED THIS WOMAN AT ALL AND ALLOW HER ACCESS TO THEIR HOME, FAMILY, HEIRLOOMS, AND PRIVATE BUSINESS WHEN THEY DIDN’T EVEN KNOW WHO SHE WAS OR ANYTHING ABOUT HER?

I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY SUSPICIOUS AND STRANGE THAT THEY WERE SO CARELESS WITH EVERYTHING. LOOK HOW EASILY SHE SWOOPED DOWN ON THAT FAMILY AND TOOK EVERYTHING IN RECORD TIME. IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT SHE HAD THE ENTIRE THING PLANNED OUT WELL IN ADVANCE. THE ONLY REASON SHE TOOK THE JOB WAS TO ELIMINATE THE COMPETITION (THE WIFE), MARRIED “DADDY WAR BUCKS”, CAUSE UNNECESSARY PROBLEMS, KILL HIM, AND GET EVERYTHING. SHE HAD THE ENTIRE THING ALL PLANNED OUT WELL IN ADVANCE, AND SADLY THE FAMILY PLAYED RIGHT INTO HER SCHEME. THEY DIDN’T TAKE ANY SAFETY PRECAUTIONS, HIRE A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, OR DO ANY BACK GROUND CHECKS AT ALL. THAT WAS PRETTY IRRESPONSIBLE, ESPECIALLY WITH SO MUCH AT STAKE AND SO MUCH TO LOSE.

YOU JUST CANNOT BE TOO CAREFUL WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR FAMILY AND ALLOWING PEOPLE INTO YOUR HOME WHO YOU DO NOT KNOW. THAT CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS, HAZARDOUS, AND HAVE TRAGIC RESULTS. IF THEY HAD JUST HAD A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR CHECK HER OUT THEY COULD HAVE PREVENTED THAT ENTIRE MESS, THERE FATHER WOULD STILL BE ALIVE, AND MAYBE EVEN THEIR MOTHER ALSO, WHO KNOWS?

I’M A TOUGH, WISE, AND CYNICAL PERSON WITH A GREAT DEAL OF COMMON SENSE THAT I DEPEND ON, REPLY ON, AND USE EVERYDAY, AND I ALWAYS ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION, ESPECIALLY WHERE MY FAMILY IS CONCERNED.

I WOULD HAVE MADE ABSOLUTELY SURE MY MOTHER HAD A NURSE THAT CHECKED OUT COMPLETELY, THAT I HAD CHECKED OUT. YOU CANNOT RELY ON THE STATE OR GOVERNMENT AT ALL, BECAUSE THEY COULD CARE LESS AND OFFER TO PROTECTION WHATSOEVER. OUR GOVERNMENT IS A JOKE AND WORK SOLELY ON BEHALF OF CORPORATE AMERICA AND MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR COMPANIES. THEY HAVE ALREADY SOLD US DOWN THE TOILET, SO WE HAVE TO PROTECT OURSELVES, RELY ON OURSELVES, DEPEND ON OURSELVES, AND TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES, BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT. I WOULD HAVE HIRED VERY EXPERIENCED AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED GAY MALE OR AN OLDER NURSE WHO WAS MARRIED AND ALREADY WORKING AT A HOSPITAL OR MEDICAL CENTER AND SPECIALIZED IN CANCER AND HOSPICE.

Donna was the director of the Rapidan Hospices. And as for the girls…they were in their late teens and early twenties when their mother died. I was a close friend of one of the girls and I was there when their mom was sick.

It seems like people these days are getting away with murder.I really think that the world is coming to an end.Because the evidence be right there.Proving that there guilty and they still get away with it.How do the jury sleep at night.

How can anyone support this low life? Married the guy swearing undying love and sets about dropping her knickers to anyone in the town. Two men testified at her trial to that effect and that’s the only ones we know about! That alone isn’t a reason to convict but for people to criticise the daughters is a bit hard to believe! Do they support that type of conduct? Would they allow their husbands or wives to sleep around? I’m so happy the daughters won their civil case vindicating their suspicions they had at the time. I hope this woman finds herself in the gutter but with so many people supporting a murderess then she’ll always have someone that will help her out, so many saddoes out there. I hope under the circumstances the daughters can at least be able to grieve for their dad in the family home.

That guy was so old and BUTT ugly in the movie – I tell you if it was an accurate casting, she deserves some sort of pay – men are so stuipid – why else if not for the money would a much younger woman show interest in them? Certainly not for the sagging balls to their frickin’ knees. YUK!!

It sounds like you are referring to Anna Nichole Smith? She was young enough to be his great granddaughter. It is sad she lost her son and left behind a baby though. Obviously, these two women, Donna and Anna, had the same agenda to get as much money out of their husbands as they could!

I’ve watched this movie a few times. Many of the true movies I do repeats. This Black Widow will get hers in the end. I would love to know where she lives and if she did the same thing to some other poor (rich) man. A song dedicated to her….”EVIL WOMAN”

I am so happy the daughters were able to get something back. I just went through a similar experience in my family and we lost the civil case against the black widow, she got everything she wanted!! It makes me sick how people can get away with what they do, but I do know they will eventually pay, we may not see it but judgement day is coming!

This may have been posted before, I didn’t read all of the comments, but I did read that some of you wanted to know the outcome of the Civil case. This is what I found: A legal case that sounds like a made-for-TV movie has been resolved with a widow acquitted of murder, yet found liable in a mediation that was part of a wrongful-death lawsuit handled by a Virginia Beach lawyer.

In fact, the case of Donna Somerville, a former hospice nurse accused of poisoning her husband, was fictionalized as a 2005 Lifetime movie titled “Widow on the Hill.” On Friday, a judge approved a wrongful-death settlement that conveyed the house on that hill, known as Mt. Athos, to Hamilton Somerville’s three natural daughters.

“You seek justice,” their lawyer, Randy Singer, said, “and we feel like we got justice in the civil case.”

The daughters grew up in the house on the farm northeast of Charlottesville but haven’t set foot inside for nine years. Their stepmother, Donna Somerville, lived there until a mediation in the civil suit ended with a decision against her in March. The decision was kept confidential until it was filed as part of the final settlement order in Orange County Circuit Court.

“Finally, we feel like there’s vindication,” said Sara Somerville, one of the three daughters, “that we have peace of mind, that we can have a good night’s sleep.”

“There’s finally closure, and we can go home,” said her sister Ginger Somerville-

I am so so so so so happy that evil women got nothing thats what she deserves i even feel i’ll sleep better tonight it’s so hard to watch that movie. I am so happy the daughters got that home their home the evil women tried to have it all i don’t know how she could sleep at night. GOOD JOB GIRLS your mom and dad are looking down so proud!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The property is now on the market. We are an hour away and going out there today to see the Montpelier races and see James Madison’s house, Montpelier which is near this property. We will probably even drive by. Very intriguing story. Like everyone else I believe that she is guilty and glad she didn’t inherit this majestic property. It will be hard to sell though given that someone was murdered there. Beautiful though.

I think he was very vulnerable after his wife passed away, and when Donna Sommerville showed compassion,he thought he “fell in love” with her after a short time. He was fooled by her,when he caught on and told her he wanted a divorce,she poisoned him. I think she was a narcissist,calculating,greedy woman who deserved nothing.
I’m glad his daughters pursued with the civil case against her and won! I think when she dies, she’ll have to answer to God. I hope there is Karma,so maybe one day it will happen to her.

Obviously the judge was a freaking idiot. All i can say its a good thing he had one intelligent daughter. The other one was kind of useless. Good for them winning the civil suit. That witch should be in jail serving many years. How could anyone be so stupid as was this man blinded by a rotten woman, going against a daughter that loved him. Thats a man for you. Didnt take him long to fall in love with someone else. Men are dumb when it comes to sex.

“Widow on the Hill, Lifetime Movie, True Story
(update) | can i just finish my waffle?” was in fact a good article.
If perhaps it included much more pix it would most likely
be quite possibly a lot better. Cya -Jacquelyn

dont go dissing james brolin, he’s a very handsome man. remember thats a movie, they had to make him look away for the movie. how could hamilton let a woman persuade him to cut his kids out of his. but on the other hand i can see she may have had ways to drug him or something. as for lindsey who said she didnt kill him, your as dumb as that judge, who knows maybe she gave the judge some so she could go free.. good always prevail over evil, and i’m happy those kids won the civil case. preferred she had gone to prison so someone else wont go through it.

april 14 2013 My sister in low toll d me to see this thrue story mouive am mairred to a housband who s wife past a way at age 26 and left 2 small kids when i meat housband 2 dhe kids where 9 10 and i had a one kid i canot immagen what BBBBBitch of awoman non human cant can do that and she has a KKids omg the Jurge is was laying her down or that is why she didnt get jailed for life i think that any body who is married shuld be nice to watch this true story…naja vancouver bc canada…

I watched the lifetime movie and when I saw the real woman I thought what a ugly bitch. How was she able to muniplate him against his daughters and leave her everything. I think that’s what blows my mind the most!! Glad to hear the daughters got it all back in the civil lawsuit and that first judge should have lost his job!!!

The portrayal in the movie is very familiar to me. Ladies watch your men. They never seem to realize that that type of behavior towards a married man is unusual and inappropriate. They seem to think its just being friendly. Normal moral wo.en don’t paw over a married man.

Angela and Bonnie Lee yall are both correct! The women who behave this way know exactly what they are doing but some women just like the male attention. This woman, Donna Somerville, wanted the family estate and the money Ham had. At least one of the daughters saw right thru this woman from the very get go while the other daughter wasn’t around as much to see what was going on. When she did finally catch on, it was too late to realize what kind of person Donna was. Some women act inappropriate and rude on purpose to get the wife or children mad so they will overreact and do something foolish. In the movie, and if this is what really happened, when Donna first met the dying wife, daughter, and Ham, and as soon as she was coming on to her father, I would have tried to fire her myself or convince my father to fire her immediately. This would have saved a lot of grief and hurt on the family if they had fired her right then after that come on.

Sept. 9, 2013 Just watched the movie for the first time and as I have to get to bed before the end of the movie, ended up watching the end on the internet and found all these comments – so great to hear that she got her come-uppance in the end. Sad that men are so vulnerable, especially when low.

Guess what? I just punched in Donna Sommerville to see if anything came up and there’s a website for donna sommerville.com – she’s a Spiritual Medium & Facilitator !!!! Interested anyone ? Certainly not me.

i believe that this case is actually a case that every man or woman out there, wealthy or not should see. it’s an example to all of us. Ham Somervile was super rich, he had 3 daughters to provide for but instead of thinking about them he was thinking about what he was getting out of his wife and the results where pretty messy. My advice is WHOEVER YOU ARE MARRYING, MAKE SURE THAT THE PERSON SIGNS A PRENUPTIAL PAPER. Dont be a fool, dont say that he/she loves me, YOU NEVER KNOW, SHE/HE MIGHT BE PLAYING YOU. So if you wanna end up dead and leave nothing for your family fine, but if you wanna be the smart one, GET YOUR PARNER TO SIGN THE PRENUPTIAL PAPERS, otherwise you are screwed. you gotta find the courage to say HUNNY, NO PRENUP NO MARRIAGE.

You are correct but in most states they require the spouse to will something to the other spouse regardless of a prenup. The new spouse could not get anything prior to the marriage only what the couple accumulated during the marriage. Some ppl do marry too quickly after a death/divorce. It is so important to protect your heirs if someone does remarry especially with any children no matter their age. It happened with our dad; he married not even a year after our parents divorce and now married to someone just like Donna. We are very Leary of her and don’t trust her or her children to be fair with us(at least we told this to dad).We only hope we don’t have to go thru what the Somerville girls had to endure. If we have to we will keep on fighting just as they had.

I hope Linda/Donna will go to jail for the rest of her life for murder the couple. I pray that the Family of daughters get their house on the hill with the big land. god bless the daughters . I hope Linda will be rot in the jail. let the daughters have peace of their minds after the lost their innocent parents.

@Anthony M. Who you are referring to as the real Widow on the hill is not hot. Go back and view the photos in the article and you can see the actual widow. Natashia who plays Donna in the movie is hot and gorgeous. Donna is not hot.

Dec 28th 2014. I have just watched this movie and was sickened at the murder trial result. It had me wondering if it was a true story. She was a selfish bitch and I am totally happy his family had the land returned. I agree the actress who played her was totally sexy looking, but she is not. She played on his vulnerability, by acting like a whore. Another jodi Arias.

That evil woman got away with murder. She will rot in Hell forever. She took the two lives that meant the most to those daughters. That can never, ever be healed. God will give comfort to those who mourn, and will dispense justice to the guilty.

Only partial justice was done. Donna will have to answer for her actions when she meets Jesus; someone in this article said she’s remarried and happy; well I guess so if she still got a few million from Hams estate. This makes husband #5 and proves she wasn’t always going to be Hams wife like she said in the movie; what a fake.

If there is any truth in this film Jenny disliked Linda from day one and was jealous and vindictive towards Linda. What Linda did , sleeping around was well out of order, but hank was smitten by her. Any man of he’s age would be with a stunning looking woman as she was in the film. For me Linda was persecuted by Jenny and one man who slept with her who worked for him and a so called a friend of his and blamed Kevin the other person who slept with her,when he did wrong as well. I don’t know if many people will really know what really did happen behind closed doors. Women do tend to get the better of us men, especially if they look like Linda. If sex wasn’t so pleasurable these things would never happen in life that’s where God made a mistake.

The real Linda was not all that attractive. The truth is Jenny saw right thru Linda from the start and knew her intentions along with not trusting her and was not about jealousy. Hank screwed up by not taking care of his estate right before the mother died or right afterwards. He should have had a trust where this wicked Linda could not swindle/connive him. Hank also was very naive and lonely after Felecia died. This is a good life lesson learned for all who have a little wealth to protect it from leeches/moochers like Linda.